


starting right here

by Lake (beyond_belief)



Series: celebrate good times, come on [1]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Clothes Shopping, Fireworks, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyond_belief/pseuds/Lake
Summary: Venom's first New Year's!
Relationships: Dan Lewis/Anne Weying, Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Series: celebrate good times, come on [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160450
Comments: 5
Kudos: 109





	starting right here

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to buhdderkupp for the read-through! Title and opening quote from JJ Heller's "This Year (Happy New Year)".

_This year  
I can't wait to see what good will come  
To feel alive instead of feeling numb  
This year  
I plan on thinking less of "I" and "me"  
I resolve to think of "us" and "we"  
This year_

  


Venom loves Anne because she never forgets he's there. 

"You guys doing anything for New Year's?" she asks at dinner; Eddie is eating a double cheeseburger that's as rare as he can possibly order and Venom is sneaking out from under the cuff of his shirt to steal French fries off his plate every few minutes. Dan's supposed to be here, but he called Anne and said he was running late at the hospital and that they should order without him.

 **What is New Year's?** Venom asks Eddie. 

"I'm not sure V is into fireworks," Eddie says to Anne, and thinks a moving mental picture of fireworks at Venom so that he knows what they're talking about. 

**Fire!**

"The fireworks only last a few minutes, V," Anne says. "It's not like the Fourth of July."

**What is this Fourth of July?**

"Now he wants to know what the Fourth is," Eddie grumbles. Venom steals another French fry from the mound of them on the plate. "V, New Year's is just an excuse for people to get drunk and stay up late."

Anne's frowning. "That's not..."

 **You already get drunk and stay up late,** Venom hisses, and Eddie can't help but laugh at that one, right as Dan comes up to the table. 

He kisses Anne on the cheek, then claps Eddie lightly on the shoulder before he sits down. "What's so funny, Eddie?"

"Eddie, you used to like New Year's Eve," Anne says. Eddie starts feeling like he's being beat down on all fronts. "V, did Eddie explain to you what fireworks are?"

"I explained," Eddie insists. Venom grumbles slightly, annoyed that he can't come out and talk to Anne and Dan directly, but Eddie has very firmly said that he's not allowed out where he might scare humans who don't know about him. 

**Tell Annie and Dan that we are not afraid of these fireworks!**

"He says he's not worried about the fireworks," Eddie adds.

"Good, then you're both invited over." Dan shakes out his napkin, then lifts his hand to motion their waitress over. 

**Why would only one of us be invited?**

_I could leave you at home in a jar,_ Eddie thinks firmly at him, but doesn't mean it at all. He just enjoys Venom's indignation whenever Eddie suggests the symbiote be left in some sort of container. An old peanut butter jar. A wine bottle. The canister the coffee grounds came in. He'd really gotten riled up when Eddie ate a pudding cup one night, let Venom lick the little plastic cup clean, then held it up and said, "What do you think, your new room?", while almost overcome with laughter.

Venom sulked the most of the evening, which allowed Eddie to get some writing done. Then they went out and found some bad guys to eat. Venom was placated by that, winding silkily around Eddie's neck and shoulders as they walked home afterward, his pleasure at being full suffusing through Eddie as well. 

**No jars!** Venom shouts now. **Eat the hamburger! You don't like when it's cold.**

Eddie eats their burger as Dan explains why he was late - some sort of emergency procedure that only he could do. Eddie's still a little conflicted about Dan: on the one hand, Dan really is a nice guy and he's never been anything less than positive towards Eddie, and he loves Anne. On the other hand, he's so great that sometimes Eddie feels like even more of a loser next to him. 

And he and Anne want to hang out with Eddie and Venom on a mostly regular basis. Eddie doesn't understand it.

 **They like us, Eddie,** Venom says as he steals more French fries. 

Aware that Anne is looking at him like she knows all the things currently happening in his head, Eddie says, "I guess we could come for New Year's," and "I hope V doesn't get too scared by the fireworks", and "Let us know how much beer we should bring."

*

**Eddie.**

Eddie's no longer startled by the loud rumble of Venom in his head, and peacefully continues putting the extra pepperonis on the frozen pizza he's making. "Yeah, babe?"

**Your shirt is scratching us.**

Eddie looks down at the sweatshirt he dug out of the bottom of a drawer this morning, a concession to the cooler weather and today's heavier than usual fog. "Really? It's a little nubbly on the inside, but I wouldn't call it scratchy."

He feels Venom move uncomfortably inside his torso. **Scratchy.**

"If it bothers you that much, I can change." He finishes with the pepperoni and wipes his oily fingertips on a paper towel. "I'm sure I've got something softer."

**Thank you.**

In the closet, he picks up a t-shirt that's been worn soft by countless washings. **That feels nicer,** Venom says. **Wear that.**

"I need something else with it, though. It's not nice enough out to walk around in just an old tee."

 **I can adjust our temperature so that you don't feel cold, Eddie,** Venom reminds him. 

Eddie grins, then shakes his head. "I know, V, but it looks weird if we're out on the street without a jacket in December. Plus, the warmer you make me, the more we need to eat, and I'm not doing a full grocery run until this weekend. No matter what you say."

Venom hums like he's thinking this over, and agrees. 

"How about we go shopping later?" Eddie asks. "After lunch. We have to get stuff to take to Anne and Dan's on Thursday, so we could make a whole trip of it. Look for some clothes you don't find scratchy."

**That sounds nice. I have never been shopping for clothing before.**

That is true; Eddie doesn't shop much for things beyond the necessities. And most of those he buys at Mrs. Chen's. He digs around a little more in the closet and finds his oldest, softest zip-up hoodie. There used to be lettering on the back, for a band that no longer exists, but it's almost all worn off in the wash. He pulls it on, enjoying the familiar feeling of it. "This okay?"

He feels Venom manifest in large splotches all over his arms. It tickles a tiny bit. **Yes.**

"All right, let's get back to that pizza."

*

**Eddie. You have only ever taken me to the grocery stores before now.**

"I know," Eddie whispers. He can feel Venom's wonder at all the things for sale in the store, all the different departments, the sheer _choice_. The symbiote had felt much the same the first time Eddie took him to the Safeway instead of just Mrs. Chen's or the fish market. 

**How do humans ever decide which things to purchase?**

"Pretty much the same way we're going to choose today, babe. What looks good and feels good."

 **Not sure you can be trusted to know what feels good. You wore the scratchy sweatshirt,** Venom grumbles.

Eddie grins to himself and says, as patiently as he can, "And that's why you're going to help me. Just… be one of my bracelets, and when I touch something, you can slide up under my palm and touch it, too."

**Acceptable!**

The store is still playing Christmas music, and Eddie hums along with it as they ride the escalator up to the men's department, not even noticing he's doing so until he feels Venom's amusement and a gentle squeeze around his wrist. "Yeah, yeah," Eddie mutters. "They always play it until January."

**And then what?**

He steps off the escalator. "How d'you mean?" 

**What holiday is there music for next?**

"None, actually.

 **None?** Venom shouts, like he can't believe it. 

"I think this store has a coffeeshop, we can get a couple mochas on the way out," Eddie says, changing the subject entirely. 

**Oooh. Yes.**

Eddie grins. 

At the men's clothing section, he bypasses the suits and button-downs, and heads for the more casual stuff. **Eddie, Eddie!** Venom shouts as they near a rack with long-sleeved tees. **Those look soft, let me touch them.**

Eddie rubs the fabric between his fingers as Venom strokes it with a tendril. It feels pretty standard to him. "Well?"

**It is okay. Are there things that are more soft?**

They wander from rack to rack - "No, V, I'm not getting anything that's cashmere no matter how much you beg," - touching sweaters, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. Eddie says he's not getting anything he has to iron or dry-clean, which means he has to explain those things to Venom. 

**That sounds stupid. Why should anyone care if your shirt is not flat? Humans have such strange standards about appearances.**

"I don't disagree, babe." Eddie sees a rack of zip-up hoodies they haven't looked at yet, but Venom tugs on his wrist before he can get to it. "What?"

**That shirt on the end with the stripe, it looks soft, we must touch. And I can hide in the hood!**

He lets Venom walk them to the display. It's just a plain jersey material, a long-sleeved tee but with a hood. It's the sort of soft that's almost slick, both inside and out. Eddie feels Venom squirm appreciatively at the texture of it. **This one!**

Eddie grabs one in every color the store has, and some jeans that feel like they've already been washed a hundred times. When he tries it all on in the fitting room, Venom's pleasure is so strong it makes Eddie blush. **This is nice, Eddie,** Venom sighs, nuzzling behind Eddie's ear with a head the size of a ping-pong ball. **Comfortable. Maybe all these human choices are not so bad.**

*

Venom manifests in the shower. Eddie fumbles the bottle body wash he'd been about to pop open, and Venom catches it. "Uh, hey, V," Eddie says, because Venom has only come out in the shower once or twice before, so Eddie figured he didn't like the water much. "What are you doing, babe?"

 **We will be out where Annie and Dan will see,** Venom replies. **I must also be clean.**

"Sure, I guess," Eddie says, and "if you want," and takes the bottle back from the symbiote. "I was just about to soap up, so you can, too."

It's a little strange at first, rubbing the lather over all the tentacles that Venom has manifested. The symbiote is also uncharacteristically quiet - usually when he's out, he's in the mood to talk a lot, or ask Eddie a thousand questions about why humans did things the way they did. 

"Are you excited for tonight?" Eddie asks, as Venom ripples against his hands. 

"Yes, I like doing things with Anne and Dan."

"Are you worried about the fireworks? They're far away, I promise."

Venom has looked at all of Eddie's memories about fireworks. He pools a little in Eddie's palms, soap bubbles shimmering on him, then stretches out again, saying, "As long as there are none of those sticks with the sparks, I am not worried."

"That's more a Fourth of July thing," Eddie chuckles. "There won't be sparklers tonight, I promise. You can rinse."

Venom twists and turns under the spray, narrowly avoiding hitting Eddie in the face. Once all the soap has been rinsed off, he doesn't disappear as Eddie expects, but instead rests on Eddie's shoulder as he washes his face. "You okay, V?" Eddie asks, once he's rinsed and is about to turn off the water. 

**Yes. I am trying to enjoy more… small things, as you humans say.**

That explains Venom's sudden opinions about what clothes they wear, and Eddie figures a warm shower is also a nice thing to enjoy. He briefly presses his cheek to Venom's before turning off the spray and groping for his towel. "You're probably already better at it than some humans."

*

Nine o'clock at night is chilly and foggy, so damp that Eddie feels like it sinks through both his jacket and the new shirt as he walks from the bus stop up the hill to Anne's apartment. He's got a tote bag with a six-pack, a bottle of halfway decent champagne, and a bag of Dove chocolate squares in various flavors. Venom is wound around his wrist with his bracelets, intent on making sure no one tries to steal the chocolate from the bag.

"Hey!" Anne and Dan chorus as they open the door. Eddie grins, feeling a strange combination of sheepish and embarrassed, but suddenly glad he didn't give in to the urge he had earlier to cancel and spend the night watching movies on the couch. 

"Hi Annie, hi Dan, we brought chocolate," Venom says out loud, sliding up over Eddie's shoulder as a small head about the size of a baseball, with eyes and teeth of a corresponding size. "Eddie bought a new shirt for tonight, it is very soft. I helped him choose it."

"V, seriously," Eddie groans. 

Anne's smiling as she reaches out and pulls Eddie and Venom inside by the elbow. She's in a black skirt and a glittery silver top, and there's a plastic headband with stars sticking up out of it stuck in her hair. Dan's a little more subdued, in jeans and a blue sweater. Neither of them are wearing shoes. It is, Eddie realizes, utterly charming. 

"Dan, your sweater also looks very soft," Venom adds. "Eddie and I both think so."

Dan's expression brightens. "Yeah? My mom sent it for Christmas, thanks. She lives in Florida, so we couldn't get together this year, but she mailed a huge box of stuff."

Eddie feels his face heat up as he takes off his shoes. He can see Anne trying to hide a grin. "Venom just… says what's on his mind. It does look really comfortable, though, Dan."

Dan pats his shoulder. "It's all good. Come on, we put out a big spread of snacks, and I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Venom announces. 

"You're always hungry," Eddie reminds him. 

"Really?" Dan asks, clearly more to Venom than to Eddie. "Like, your metabolism runs super high, or…" 

Eddie hands Anne the bottle of champagne, letting Dan and Venom continue their conversation. Honestly, though, he's happy Venom has other people to talk to than just him, and happy that Dan wants to talk to Venom about himself, and not Eddie-and-Venom. Eddie knows that as much as Venom luxuriates in their bond, the symbiote does have his own personality and interests. 

"How's the public defender's office?" he asks her, following behind into the kitchen. Venom stays behind to keep talking to Dan, stretching a long rope between him and Eddie. 

Anne blinks at it for a second, then collects herself. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I have a handful of things I think you might want to look into. You're a great investigator, and these people need someone in their corner."

"I also can't believe you're saying this," Eddie replies, but softens it with a grin. "Yeah, yeah, tell me what you've got."

*

It's more fun than Eddie expects. He was sure it would feel awkward, being with Anne and Dan in the apartment that he, Eddie, used to live in, but Venom being there means a lot of attention is directed towards the symbiote as he asks a million and one questions. There's not much time left for Eddie to feel weird.

The snack spread is also great. Venom happily puts his chocolates into the bowl Anne gets for him, and doesn't eat all of them at once. "We brought them to share," he says, utterly serious, and then unwraps one and shoves it in Eddie's mouth.

"V, seriously," Eddie coughs, working the square around his mouth so he doesn't suffocate on it.

Venom ignores him. "Look, Eddie, chocolate pretzels and chocolate potato chips!" 

"Well, we knew you liked chocolate," Anne laughs. She pats Venom's cheek and he beams. "And I think Dan got some chocolate beer, if you want to try it?"

"I have never had beer. Only Eddie has." **Can we try it, Eddie?**

_If you want to, babe,_ Eddie thinks back. 

Venom follows Anne into the kitchen. Eddie eats a couple chocolate-covered potato chips. "You guys have a nice Christmas?" he asks Dan. 

"Oh, I had to work."

"That sucks."

Dan shrugs. "The trade-off was that I got tonight and tomorrow off, so it was worth it. And there weren't any emergency surgeries on Christmas Day - that's a first since I started at the hospital - so it was mostly quiet. I played cards with more than one patient."

"So they weren't lonely," Eddie infers, and Dan nods. "Dan, that's really sweet."

Dan's cheeks pink slightly. He takes a drink of his beer. 

Venom returns with a small glass, a few tendrils of himself wrapped securely around it. He wraps some more tendrils loosely around Eddie's neck. "How is it, V?" Eddie asks, even though he can tell Venom is slightly suspicious of the drink.

"It is not as chocolate as I hoped," Venom says. He sticks his tongue out a bit for a moment. "But I enjoy sharing in the celebratory beverages. Here, Eddie, you try." 

He shoves the glass directly in front of Eddie's face. "Be careful, bud," Eddie grumbles, but lets Venom tip the glass. He does trust his symbiote not to drown him in beer, at least. It's dark, and he can sort of taste chocolate, but it's not something he'd buy himself. 

_It's nice that Anne and Dan would get it for you,_ he thinks very pointedly in Venom's direction. 

"Thank you for buying it for me, Annie and Dan," Venom says, as cordially as he can say anything. Eddie watches Anne try and fail to smother her smile. 

Dan's grinning outright. He pats Eddie and Venom on their shared shoulder. "Eat some of this chocolate, at least."

*

They go outside to watch the fireworks. The sidewalk is mostly empty, the only other humans around are much further down the block, but Eddie pulls his hood up to shield Venom's little head just the same. "Remember, they're really far away, so they can't hurt you," he whispers, and Venom nuzzles under his ear.

Dan's got his arm around Anne's shoulders. For a second, Eddie feels like he should be feeling at least a small pang of loneliness, but Venom is snuggling around his neck. Dimly he can hear people shouting the countdown from somewhere, and feels Venom's question, then feels Venom rifling through his memories. **It is just a date,** Venom says. His confusion rolls through Eddie.

"I know, V, but it's like - it lets people believe in… in starting over," Eddie whispers back, reaching up to stroke his fingertips over Venom's small form. "Humans like to plan how the new year will be different than the one they just left behind."

 **I do not entirely understand… but it sounds nice.**

People are whooping now, and out of the corner of his eye, Eddie sees Dan and Anne kissing. **Eddie where is my kiss?** Venom yells, and Eddie laughs and kisses the handful of tendrils that wave demandingly in his face. 

The fireworks start in a cascade of popping noises. At the first shimmering burst of light, a jolt of surprise runs through Venom and he swivels his mass out of Eddie's hands to stare up at the sky. The lights of the fireworks reflect in his eyes. Eddie feels oddly proud of him for not flinching at all. **Eddie, Eddie! It is beautiful!**

The sheer wonder thrumming through the symbiote makes Eddie feel like his skin is buzzing. "It is pretty nice, huh?"

 **I thought it would be like the rocket exploding.** Tendrils wrap around Eddie's wrist and squeeze his hand. **I did not understand how beautiful it would be.**

Eddie squeezes back. "I'm glad you like it. Happy New Year, V."

**Author's Note:**

> Wishing you all a happy & healthy 2021; here's hoping there's improvement in the world. Thanks _Venom_ fandom for all your lovely comments - writing these stories the last few months has helped me to stay a little saner this year. ♥


End file.
